Enel Green Power starts construction of South America’s largest wind farm in Brazil

Date
February 07, 2019

Subscribe to our newsletter and get the latest news and business opportunities in your inbox

This article is part of a daily series of IPP articles. If you want to know more about the latest power generation projects globally visit our IPP Today section. You can receive them by email on a daily basis.

Enel, through its Brazilian renewable energy subsidiary Enel Green Power Brasil Participações Ltda. (EGPB), has started construction of the 716 MW Lagoa dos Ventos wind farm, located in the municipalities of Lagoa do Barro do Piauí, Queimada Nova and Dom Inocêncio, in Brazil’s northeastern state of Piauí.

Expected to enter into operation in 2021, Lagoa dos Ventos is the largest wind facility currently under construction in South America and Enel Green Power’s largest wind farm worldwide.

The investment for the construction of the facility will amount to around BRL3 billion (US$800 million) and will be financed through Enel’s own sources.

Lagoa dos Ventos will consist of 230 wind turbines and, once fully up and running, will be able to generate over 3.3TWh per year while avoiding the emission of over 1.6 million tons of CO2 into the atmosphere.

Of the wind farm’s total installed capacity, 510 MW were awarded to Enel Green Power in Brazil’s A-6 public tender in December 2017 and is supported by 20-year power supply contracts with a pool of distribution companies operating in the country’s regulated market.

The output from the remaining 206 MW will be delivered to the free market for sale to retail customers, leveraging Enel’s integrated presence in the country.

In Brazil, the Enel Group, through its subsidiaries EGPB and Enel Brasil, manages around 2.9 GW of renewable capacity, of which 842 MW from wind power, 820 MW from solar PV and 1,269 MW from hydro. In addition, EGPB has more than 1 GW in execution in Brazil awarded in 2017 tenders.